Church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais

Saint-Gervais is considered one of the first parishes on the right bank. The remains of an ancient cemetery and a vast Merovingian necropolis discovered around Saint-Gervais would explain the age of the foundation. The church was consecrated in 1420, then enlarged from 1494 until about 1620. The facade is the first of a church to use the classical vocabulary of orders in a monumental way, in accordance with the ancient fashion that prevailed in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was closed in 1793 and reopened in 1795 and shared between Catholics and theophilanthropists until the Concordat. On Good Friday, March 29, 1918, a German shell destroyed part of the nave in the middle of the mass, killing about a hundred people.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture
  • Stained glass
  • Monuments
  • Interior features
  • Atmosphere / quiet space
  • Churchyard
  • Social heritage
  • Famous people or stories

Visitors information

  • Bus stop within 100m
  • Parking within 250m

Other nearby buildings

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame is one of the most eminent churches in the world, and the symbol of the city of Paris. It has become the theatre to some of the most notorious novels in literature, celebrated by writers and artists including Victor Hugo. The cathedral was built by the meanderings of the river Seine- in the Île de la Cité- in the early days of the gothic era. Although the monument is a great example of early gothic style, the influence of the Romanesque school is still visible. In 2019, the church was badly damaged by a fire.

Wikimedia Commons/GFreihalter

Church of Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux

The Blancs-Manteaux monastery was founded in 1258. From 1685 to 1690, the monastery and its church were rebuilt to house the novitiate of the Benedictines of Paris, home to a centre of scholarship. The convent was suppressed and the church sold in 1796, it reopened by government decree in 1800 and was purchased by the City of Paris in 1807, it changed from a monastery church to a parish church. The bombardment of August 26, 1944 damaged the stained glass windows and the organ. Since then, the instrument has been rebuilt and the stained glass windows replaced by new ones representing the great moments in the history of the Blancs-Manteaux. With the exception of the church, the presbytery is the only surviving part of the convent.